2.15.Maternity Leave

[We see Locke and Jack opening the door to the gun vault to bring Gale some food.]
JACK: Do you have to go to the bathroom?
GALE: No.
JACK: Well, just let us know when you do.
GALE: I'll look forward to that.
LOCKE [tossing a book on the cot]: I thought you might like something to read.
GALE: Dostoyevsky. You don't have any Stephen King?
LOCKE: The library's a little outdated.
GALE: Right. Well, thanks.
[Jack and Locke exit the gun vault.]
JACK: What's with the book?
LOCKE: Just something to pass the time. Did you know that Hemingway was jealous of Dostoyevsky?
JACK: No, John, I didn't know that.
LOCKE: He wanted to be the world's greatest writer, but convinced himself that he could never get out from under Dostoyevsky's shadow. Kind of sad, really. What are we doing, Jack?
JACK: What are we doing?
LOCKE: We can't hide him down here forever. Changing shifts around is going to get people asking questions. I just want to know what the long term plan is.
JACK: Well, John, let me ask you this: we don't have a long term plan for the button but we keep pushing it, don't we? Look, until we know who he is -- whether or not he's telling the truth -- we have to keep doing what we're doing. If you've got a better idea let's hear it.
GALE [very faintly]: Why don't you let me go?
[We see Gale and Jack in the bathroom.]
GALE: How many of you are...
JACK: Shut up.
[We see Locke doing dishes in the hatch. Jack and Eko enter.]
LOCKE: Back for more tools?
JACK: He knows, John.
LOCKE: Well, there you go.
JACK [to Eko]: Be careful what you say to him. He's smart and curious. Just give us a shout when you're done.
LOCKE: If the alarm goes off, don't tell him what it's for.
EKO: What is it for?
[Locke opens the armory door and Eko enters.]
EKO [extending his hand to shake]: Hello. I am Mr. Eko.
GALE: Henry Gale.
EKO: Do you mind if I sit, Henry?
GALE: Okay.
EKO: How long have you been in here?
GALE: 2 days.
EKO: Are they treating you well?
GALE: Treating me well? I'm a prisoner; and I don't know why, or for what, or...
EKO: You are a prisoner because they are being careful. They are being careful because they believe you are lying.
GALE: Why would I lie? They think I'm one of these others -- other what?
EKO: Please, stop talking, Henry. The first night I spent on this island I was dragged into the jungle by 2 men. They never spoke a word to me, nor I to them. I killed these men -- smashed in their head with a stone, felt their blood on my arms. I need you to know how sorry I am for this. I need you to know that I am back on the righteous path now. And that I regret my actions. I ask you for your forgiveness.
GALE: Why are you telling me this?
EKO: Because I needed to tell someone.
[Eko pulls out a knife in a threatening manner, but uses it to cut off the 2 longer strands on his beard. Eko exits.]
[Locke opens the door to the armory and brings Gale some food.]
GALE: No cheeseburgers, huh?
LOCKE: No cheeseburgers. Bon a petit.
GALE: Is that true -- what you said Hemingway?
LOCKE: You have good ears.
GALE: You have thin doors.
LOCKE: You read Hemingway?
GALE: Sure, guy ran with the bulls, fought in the Spanish Civil War, stuff I can wrap my brain around. This is I can't get through 5 pages of [indicating the Dostoyevsky novel].
LOCKE: Well, Dostoyevsky had his virtues, too. He was a genius, for one. Bullfighting isn't everything.
GALE: So, which one are you?
LOCKE: I'm sorry.
GALE: Are you the genius, or are you the guy who always feels like he's living in the shadow of a genius?
LOCKE: I was never very much into literary analysis.
GALE: I just don't understand why you let the doctor call the shots.
LOCKE: No one calls the shots. Jack and I make decisions together.
GALE: Right, okay. My mistake.
[Locke leaves the armory, starts to do the dishes, and then loses his temper, swiping all the dishes on the counter to the ground.]